First Sudanese soldier dies in Yemen

January 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese army Friday confirmed the death of its first soldier killed in Yemen where they are participating since last October in the Saudi led campaign against the Shiite Houthi militants.

Sudanese army spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami told Sudan Tribune Friday that an unexploded ordnance caused the death of a Sudanese soldier while he was burning a mass of rubble at the headquarters of Sudanese troops in Aden.

“The burning of debris resulted in the explosion of a 37-mm projectile that hit the soldier directly in the head,” Alshami said.

The body of the soldier arrived Friday on a Saudi military plane to Khartoum airport and moved directly to his home-town Al-Hilalliya, in Al-Jazira state, central Sudan.

In October and December 2015, Sudan had denied reports by Iranian media about the death of Sudanese soldiers in Yemen.

Sudan participates with over 850 troops in the Saudi-led “Decisive Storm” against the Iranian-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Sudanese military participation in the campaign reconciled Bashir’s regime with the Saudi government, and marked the divorce with Iran.

(ST)